Lenny Bruce

Kitty Bruce / Shout Factory

The comedian: Lenny Bruce The straight men: New York Dist. Atty. Frank Hogan and New York Archbishop Francis Cardinal Spellman The collision: Bruce's blue material raised eyebrows from coast to coast. He had been arrested on obscenity charges before, in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. But it was in New York City that the city government and the church collaborated to put the comedian on trial. After a six-month trial, he was found guilty of obscenity and sentenced to four months in a workhouse.

The comedian: Lenny Bruce The straight men: New York Dist. Atty. Frank Hogan and New York Archbishop Francis Cardinal Spellman The collision: Bruce's blue material raised eyebrows from coast to coast. He had been arrested on obscenity charges before, in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. But it was in New York City that the city government and the church collaborated to put the comedian on trial. After a six-month trial, he was found guilty of obscenity and sentenced to four months in a workhouse. (Kitty Bruce / Shout Factory)

The comedian: Lenny Bruce The straight men: New York Dist. Atty. Frank Hogan and New York Archbishop Francis Cardinal Spellman The collision: Bruce's blue material raised eyebrows from coast to coast. He had been arrested on obscenity charges before, in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. But it was in New York City that the city government and the church collaborated to put the comedian on trial. After a six-month trial, he was found guilty of obscenity and sentenced to four months in a workhouse.